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INTERSPILL 2018 - Preliminary Programme and Call for Papers

TOPICS AND THEMESIndustry, Government, Academia and other stakeholders continue to strive for excellence in spill preparedness and response, in the context of a prolonged downturn in oil prices which have precipitated close scrutiny of all costs, no matter how important the activities may be. Interspill 2018 will be the forum to showcase the wide range of leading-edge initiatives which are improving global readiness and demonstrate why oil spill preparedness and response remains relevant to its multiple stakeholders and adding true value to those investing in it.

CONFERENCE STREAMS

Government / Industry Collaboration: Effective preparedness and response is best achieved where governments and industry work in partnership towards shared goals. This stream will include presentations on legislation, regulation and collaborative initiatives that further global readiness.

Surveillance, Modelling and Visualisation (SMV): For oil spill preparedness and response, SMV technologies are especially useful in informing decision-making at the strategic and tactical levels. Our exhibition partners at Oceanology International (OI) share an interest in SMV. This stream will feature some shared sessions with OI and also some dedicated to the practical application of SMV to improve operational maritime awareness and response in the field. The management of maritime data and how to optimise their visualisation and use by the various authorities and end-users will also be covered in this stream.

Shipping and Salvage Risks: The new generation of cargo vessels can carry 20,000 containers and hold 20,000 tonnes of fuel. Whilst the oil industry may be experiencing a downturn, shipping is buoyant and the risk of congested shipping channels and new routes such as the Arctic passage offer new spill preparedness and response challenges. This stream, which will coincide with the ISU Associates member annual meeting in London, will cover oil and HNS risks in the context of casualty handling.

Decommissioning and Monitoring: With ageing infrastructure, oil spill preparedness and response in the context of decommissioning is becoming ever more important. This stream will address the issues of the Offshore Safety Directive and OSPAR implementation as well as long term monitoring tools, techniques and protocols.

Effective Preparedness: Personnel training and response planning need to add value for all stakeholders rather than just “tick a box”. With increasing pressure to demonstrate a full understanding of the environmental impacts of spills, relevant and credible scientific studies have never been more important. This stream will look at the latest research techniques being employed and examine the findings of case studies and will also consider good practice in learning, development, assessment and planning that provides added value to all concerned.

Inland Risks: Oil / HNS transport by inland waterways presents its own risks whilst inland pipeline and oilfields across both arid and temperate climates require different plans to those offshore. Flooding events seem to be ever more common and bring with them associated oil spill risks. Meanwhile major inland storage locations represent significant accumulations of liquids at risk. This stream will examine the unique challenges of preparedness and response in these environments.

Offshore Exploration and Production Risks: Well intervention, preparedness and response remain challenges whether shallow, nearshore facilities or deepwater, or far offshore facilities. Although the memory of Montara and Macondo may be fading for some, the risks and the response challenges remain. This stream will review the most recent developments in this important sphere of activity.

Authors are requested to submit a short abstract, up to 250 words, to the committee by email, addressed to [email protected] .

Authors are requested to confirm whether their paper is for the conference, for the poster exhibition, for the science workshops or the spill industry seminars and to indicate which stream(s) they wish their paper to be considered under. Authors will be notified of acceptance by 30 September 2017, and full papers should be received by 31 December 2017.

WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS

Interspill 2018 will again feature the popular Science Workshops and Industry Seminars which allow the scientific community to engage with end users and for manufacturers to showcase their latest developments.

SHORT COURSES

Aimed especially at young professionals and those new to the spill preparedness and response community, these courses held on Mon 12th March will offer an excellent introduction to Spill Preparedness and Response and Claims and Compensation..

POSTER EXHIBITION

The Poster Exhibition will be a major feature of Interspill in 2018, incorporated into the networking activities, and event programme.

INFORMATION

Interspill 2018 will be held at Excel, London, UK 12th – 15th March 2018 in a shared Exhibition space with Oceanology International. It will also coincide with the Annual Associate Members meeting of the International Salvage Union. These synergies will make Interspill 2018 a truly unique event in spill preparedness and response.

Interspill 2015 attracted over 1300 delegates, visitors and exhibitors from over 70 countries, it was the most successful event so far in the Interspill series since it started in 2000. Proceedings of the 2015 conference, workshops and seminars are published on the Interspill website www.interspill.org.